RECONCRETE Recycled concrete for sustainable urban furniture manufacturing

Challenge

Steelmaking slag and construction waste are still frequently downcycled or sent to landfill, while conventional concrete production continues to depend heavily on carbon-intensive cement.

Solution

RECONCRETE combines industrial by-products with large-scale 3D printing to create circular construction products with a lower reliance on virgin materials. The project develops a printable material rich in steelmaking slag and construction waste, integrating digital production data with additive manufacturing to produce urban furniture and other public-space applications. This approach reduces cement use while increasing the share of secondary raw materials in the final product.

Impact

RECONCRETE reports a formulation containing 78.6% waste-derived dry material, with around 56% less cement and a 71.7% lower global-warming potential compared with the reference material. The project identifies an estimated €30.5 million serviceable market in Spain, alongside a broader European opportunity, with urban furniture and public-space applications providing an initial route to market. By combining circular material design with digital manufacturing, RECONCRETE demonstrates how industrial waste can be transformed into lower-carbon construction products with practical market potential.